Monday, June 4, 2012

Harness Racing: George Brennan banned from Meadowlands track

Prominent harness racing driver George Brennan has been
banned from the Meadowlands Racetrack due to a comment in
a recent newspaper article that was taken as an endorsement of
cheating by track operator Jeff Gural. Brennan, 45, who won the
prestigious Hambletonian and Hambletonian Oaks races at
the Meadowlands Racetrack last summer, confirmed Monday in a
phone interview as “100 percent true” a story on New
Zealand- based industry website harnesslink.com citing the
comments as a reason for the ban. In a New York Times article last
week, Brennan was supportive of Lou Pena, a controversial
trainer who last month was suspended in New York state for
allegedly doping horses in almost 700 different races Since 2010.

Meadowlands Racetrack

Pena and Brennan were the dominant trainer and
driver, respectively, at Yonkers Raceway last year in Brennan’s
first full season at that track — with Brennan often driving
Pena’s horses. Brennan said of Pena, “They’re throwing
this guy to the wolves when the primary objective in this
game is to win races. Obviously, someone is out to get him.”
Gural said Monday, “I was very offended by [Brennan’s]
remarks about the Pena suspension in the Times. It seemed he
was saying it is all right to cheat because the object is
to win and this is not my philosophy o r the impression I want my
customers to have. While I agree the rules are confusing
and should be uniform, there is no room for Mr. Brennan’s
views on this subject.” Meadowlands Racing Secretary Peter Koch
called Brennan after the article appeared, according to
Brennan, and informed him of the ban. Brennan said in the
harnesslink.com Story that when he asked Koch to elaborate,
he was simply told, “I’m just the messenger.” Pena was banned
in December from the Meadowlands track by Gural, who in court
documents at the time referred to “no less than 15
infractions” by various horse racing boards alleging improper
conduct by Pena.

Jeff Gural

Gural, a real estate executive who first began
racing horses at the 36-year-old Meadowlands track in its first
year of operation, took over the reins from the New
Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority in December. Improving
the public perception of a sport that has had its share of
racing scandals over the years has been cited as a priority by
Gural. Plans are under way to build a new, s maller grandstand at the
site of the current backstretch. Gural hopes that will help
turn the track back into a profitable business, after the
state lost millions annually there due to the sport’s
declining popularity.